A Diamond in the Rough

by Marilyn Land

  When the friends met up in the Lobby of the hotel, they were anxious to get going and spend a memorable day together.

  Jake took the lead. “After giving thought to what we could do today, I wasn’t able to come up with anything novel that we could do. Then, the thought occurred to me, why stay in the City? We can hop on the Underground, get off wherever we choose, explore that particular town, and hop back on and move on to the next town. It will be a no stress, no have-to-be-anywhere day, and it will be great just being together. Then we can wind down over a nice quiet dinner.

  “I don’t want to be a party pooper, but we all have to leave sometime tomorrow, so I think we should make it an early evening.”

  Tommy with a mischievous grin on his face said, “Andy and I have been doing some thinking too. Why don’t we go to Piccadilly Circus? There is a lot to do there—Leicester Square, London Pavilion, and neighboring Soho—shopping, restaurants, pubs, cinema, and theatre. There are nightclubs featuring risqué Paris style shows, but I don’t know if they’re open during the day; maybe we’ll get lucky.

  “The best part is we can walk. It’s only half a kilometer, and although it’s cold, we’re dressed for it, and it’ll be fun. Why don’t we forego breakfast here at the hotel and grab something to eat when we get there?”

  All agreed. They made their way out the door and headed up the street towards Piccadilly Circus.

  Piccadilly Circus is a road junction and public space of London’s West End in the City of Westminster, built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with the many shopping streets of Piccadilly. In this context, a circus, from the Latin meaning word circle forms a round open space at a street junction.

  The Circus, from its inception, became a major tourist attraction with its offerings of shopping, theatre, entertainment, restaurants, pubs, private clubs and nightclubs. It particularly became known for its video display and neon signs, after the intersection’s first electric advertisements appeared in 1910, with electric billboards set up on the façade of the London Pavilion.

  In peace or in war, Piccadilly Circus became known as the Hub of the World!

  What a day they had. It was as close to perfect as one could get. By the time they chose a small quiet restaurant in Soho to have dinner, they were exhausted but happy, and pleased that above all else, they had fun. As they perused their menus, each was lost in their own thoughts knowing the day was drawing to an end.

  Jake and Lexi held hands under the table. Neither had ever been to Piccadilly Circus, but since no one asked, decided not to divulge that fact. Both had their beginnings in the East End, and even though Lexi no longer lived there when they met, they were two Jewish kids who were born and rooted in a Jewish world. The War had changed all that.

  They ordered, and as they waited for their food to be served, Tommy attempted to return to the earlier upbeat mood of the day by relating the saga of the Piccadilly Commandos—due to become one of the great unsung elite units in history.

  Leaning back in his chair, he cleared his throat. “Listen up; I’m about to convey some wartime info I think you should know about. I myself only learned of the situation as recently as days before my leave began.

  “Soon after America entered the War in December 1941, the presence of GIs here in wartime Britain was everywhere, but nowhere more prominent than in London and its surrounding areas.

  “Although we know the Yanks are on our side and here to help us defeat the Nazis, almost immediately the GIs inspired envy in us Brits. Less than a year after arriving on our shores, many began judging our overseas guests to be guilty of three heinous offences—being over-paid, over-sexed, and over here.

  “Prostitution is pretty widespread in this area, and word is that in addition to the regular practitioners of the oldest profession, many of the female munitions workers and other women are being drawn to Piccadilly by the promise of young men in well-cut uniforms more than willing to share disposable cash.

  “The prostitutes around Piccadilly Circus and Coventry Street are of a lower type, quite indiscriminate in their choice of clients and reportedly thieves, as well. They have a tendency to congregate in drunken groups and are openly brazen with the American GIs accosting them in public and touching them in inappropriate places. All this has resulted in a sticky situation between the two countries.

  “It’s become quite a problem with both the American military and the Metropolitan Police. The newspapers in London haven’t covered the story much, but from what a friend tells me, American newspapers report that letters sent home by American GIs have created a serious and unfortunate impression on both sides of the Atlantic for them to deal with.

  “I don’t rightly know who dubbed them The Piccadilly Commandos, but the name sure fits and has stuck like glue. I might add, that this remains an ongoing problem with no end in sight.

  “This brings an end to my story; I’ll have to update you at a later time, that is, if and when I learn anything new. Before you start with the questions, I’ll add one more thing. An American chap posted to my base relayed the story to me, and in turn, I have passed it on to you. In other words, I’m not speaking from experience; the Piccadilly Commandos aren’t interested in Brits anyway. I’m fairly certain they see us as—being underpaid, undersexed and always here.”

  They were still laughing when their food was served, and the conversation turned to other subjects. Tommy had accomplished what he set out to do. For the remainder of their evening, they were just six young people having a good time.

  When they left the restaurant, there were hugs all around. Emotionally, Jake pulled Andy aside and wished him Godspeed. “Take care of yourself. When this is all over, we’ll meet up without time limits.”

  Andy, Betsy, and Lily went to the Underground each heading home.

  Jake, Lexi, and Tommy opted to walk back to the Savoy. Once in the lobby, Tommy turned to them and said, “I don’t think I have to tell you how lucky you are to have each other. You’re two beautiful and extra special people who I feel truly blessed to know.

  “Take care Jitterbug Jake until we meet again when this damn War is finally over. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to celebrate a victorious Britain.”

  They hugged, and when they parted both had tears in their eyes.

  Tommy pulled Lexi to him and hugged her too, kissing her on both cheeks. “Goodbye for now pretty lady. I’m sure we’ll met again because in case you couldn’t tell, I’m a little sweet on your friend Betsy. I hope to keep in touch as best I can.”

  Tommy went into the bar alone; Jake and Lexi took the lift to his room.

  Spending the night at the hotel, they made love as the hours ticked by, and fell asleep holding onto each other until the last possible moment.

  Jake woke first. He shaved, showered, and dressed. Walking over to the bed, he leaned down and kissed her. “Hey sleepyhead, it’s time to get up. We have a lot to do before catching our trains.”

  “Five more minutes, please.”

  “Okay, as long as you don’t ask for five more.”

  “In that case, I might as well just get up now. You think you know me pretty well, don’t you? When I was little, I always wanted to stay up five more minutes, now I want to spend those five more minutes sleeping.”

  Lexi had brought a change of clothes to wear back to school. While she showered and changed, Jake packed his bag and checked to see that he wasn’t leaving anything behind.

  They took the lift to the lobby and Jake checked out. Hand in hand, they walked to the Underground and caught the train to Hendon Central. They were quiet as they walked to the Portman house.

  It only took a few minutes to pack. Any food she had brought into the house was long gone and everything put away in the kitchen. Once again they were on their way.

  “Where to now? It’s far too early to meet the girls at the railway station.”

&nb
sp; Until now, Jake hadn’t told her what he planned to do. “I want to go to the house in Edgware. Are you okay with that? If you’d rather not, I’ll go alone and come back for you.”

  “Of course, I’ll go with you. I’m just surprised that you didn’t mention it.”

  Once again, they took the Underground, three stops past Hendon to Edgware. Until now, Lexi hadn’t realized the close proximity of the two houses. She was aware that both were in Middlesex but had never been in the Edgware area. As they came up from the station to the street, she saw that even in the dead of winter, how pretty the neighborhood was. Briefly, images of the destruction left by the air raid bombings throughout London flashed before her.

  At the corner, they turned onto Brook Avenue and came to a stop in front of #11. Jake unlocked the door, and stood back to allow Lexi to enter in front of him.

  He dropped their bags inside the door.

  “I’m going down to the basement to get what I came for, but I won’t be long. Make yourself at home. Before we leave, I’ll take you through the house, if you like.”

  “I would like that very much.”

  Most of the furniture was covered, and one could easily tell that no one currently resided there; nonetheless the first level exuded an inviting and warm feeling. There were curtains on the windows, paintings on the walls, and family photographs along with various personal objects on display in each room. The love that went into making the house a home was evident throughout.

  As she gazed intently at a family photo that had obviously been taken not too long before that awful night, Lexi suddenly felt Jake’s pain. She knew they were due to move by month’s end following Passover, but what she hadn’t realized was that their new home was so ready to welcome them.

  Jake returned, took her in his arms and kissed her. “Come, I’ll show you around. The upstairs is not fully furnished; only my parents’ bedroom is complete. The other rooms are mostly finished, lacking only our beds which were to be moved from our flat.”

  As he guided her through the house, the raw pain he once felt seemed to have eased with the passing of time. However, he remained resolute in his decision to sell the house at war’s end. On each level, in each room, he showed Lexi his parents’ dream with pride, pointing out objects in his sisters’ room, and ending with a lone photograph of her sitting on his desk.

  Taking her hand, he led her down the stairs to the sitting room where he partially peeled back the cover on the sofa, and bade her to sit down.

  He knelt before her. “My darling Lexi, I love you from the depths of my being, as I have since the very moment I laid eyes on you, and you and I became us. The past three days have not only been the best days of my life, but have shown me that without you, I have no life. We just found our way back to one another yet in mere hours, we must once again part. This time, I’m not pushing you away; I’m asking you to wait for me. When I come home, I want to live the life we dreamt of as children.”

  Pulling her to her feet, he kissed her. He wanted to just hold her and never let her go; that was not possible.

  Releasing her, he looked directly into her eyes. “What do say, Lexi Portman, will you wait for me and marry me?”

  “Yes, yes, yes I will wait for you and I will absolutely and most definitely marry you. I love you more than life itself.”

  He kissed her again. Reaching into his pocket, he extracted a beautiful gold ring with two equal sized diamonds mounted on angle side by side. “I made this ring for you with plans to seek your parents’ blessing and give it to you when we graduated. My father cut and polished one of the diamonds; I cut and polished the other with his help and guidance. When we finished, he told me I did such a good job that he couldn’t tell which stone either of us had cut. They were identical.

  “I had no way of knowing your ring size, and I can tell just by looking, that it’s too big for your finger.” Again reaching in his pocket, he produced a gold chain. “Wear it on the chain next to your heart; I think I like that better for now.”

  Putting the chain around her neck, he stood back and surveyed how very beautiful she looked. She had a glow about her that had only appeared three days ago; a glow emanating total happiness and contentment. She was in love, and had just promised to marry the Love of her life.

  “You take my breath away Jake Lyons. I promise the chain with your ring will not be removed by me. I will wear it around my neck until you come home and put it on my finger where it will stay until eternity.”

  Again they kissed and held one another close.

  Asking her to wait for him in the sitting room, he went to the small desk in the hallway where he had penned his letter to her. He removed two sheets of writing paper. On one, he wrote Lexi’s home address and contact information in Birmingham. On the other sheet of paper, he wrote what was actually an informal Will. Stating simply, in case of his demise in the War, his entire net worth was to be transferred to Alexandra Portman. Placing each note in an individual envelope, he addressed them both to Marcus Hirsch.

  Once again they took the Underground to the City. Jake said they had one more stop to make before leaving London. As before, Lexi had no idea where they were headed.

  They arrived at De Beers precisely at noon, and found Marcus in his office. The delight on his face at seeing Jake and Lexi standing before him was undeniable. He came around his desk, and Jake introduced them.

  “Marcus, I’d like you to meet Lexi Portman.” To Lexi he said, “I want you to meet the man without whose help, I probably wouldn’t be standing here right now. This is the one and only Marcus Hirsch.”

  Marcus was so pleased to meet Jake’s young lady, but he was elated at seeing them together. He had no idea how they had met up and knew that he would have to wait to find out—but seeing the obvious written all over their faces would do for now.

  “We can’t stay long; we have trains to catch. I trust you and Elena had a good visit with your daughter and family?”

  “Yes, we sure did. The grandchildren are growing up so fast.”

  Jake handed him the first envelope and said, “I’ve given you contact information for Lexi at home and Birmingham where she is in nurses training.”

  Trying to underplay what lay ahead of him when he returned to Winkleigh, he said, “I have no idea if I will be able to write to her or keep in touch on a regular basis. However, since you are my official contact, from time to time, I’d appreciate your letting her know that I’m okay.”

  “I certainly will.” Turning to Lexi, he said, “I might add, that it was our agreement from the beginning that I would be informed at all times where Jake was and how he was doing. Outside of never knowing when I might look up and see him standing in front of me, it has worked just fine.”

  “I know you must have a lot of questions, but they will have to wait. It will be quite a conversation over dinner with Elena, of course. We’re in a bit of a rush to catch our trains.”

  Out of Lexi’s view, he handed Marcus the second envelope on which he had printed: To Be Opened Only Upon My Demise. At first, Marcus was taken aback, but managed to place the envelope face down on his desk, and bid the young couple goodbye.

  They arrived at Charing Cross Railway Station and found Betsy and Lily waiting for them. The train to Birmingham was due in twenty minutes and was expected on time. As they waited on the platform, the girls stood aside, and allowed Jake and Lexi a bit of privacy in a very public place. All too soon, their final kiss, their final I love you, and she was on board—seated at the window waving to him with one hand and holding the ring on its chain with the other, as the train slowly pulled away.

  One half hour later, Jake boarded his train to Devon. He had a long ride ahead of him—three hours plus. Over and over in his mind he recalled the last three days. It felt good to be us again—Jake and Lexi—Lexi and Jake. He had missed her, but didn’t realize how much until she came back
into his life. They were one now; as good as married as far as he was concerned. He agreed with Tommy. If this damn War would just end, everything would be great.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Three weeks after returning to Winkleigh, Operation Steinbock, a nocturnal Luftwaffe bombing offensive, chiefly targeting the greater London area, began in earnest. In Britain it was known as the Baby Blitz, due to the smaller scale of operations compared to The Blitz in 1940-41. These attacks resulted in few aircraft reaching their targets, with virtually no achievement by the Germans. The Allies, however, successfully destroyed 70% of the aircraft assembled by the Luftwaffe, and ultimately brought an end to the heavy air raids on London.

  In January 1944, planning for D-Day took on greater urgency, as Allied Commanders began revising draft plans, and fine-tuning precise preparations. Midget submarines secretly visited the Normandy beaches to take sand samples needed to confirm that the sand on sections of the chosen landing beaches would support the weight of the tanks and other heavy equipment planned for use in the offensive.

  Across many parts of Europe, British and US aircraft began dropping weapons and supplies to the Resistance to enable them to flight back against the occupying Germans.

  In the UK, the first amphibious exercise for American troops took place at Slapton Sands, Devon. The exercise involved thousands of assault troops, and was a rehearsal of the techniques that were to be used on D-Day itself.

  Jake’s last contact with Lexi was in late January. He rang her up at school and through the efforts of a clerk in the Administrations Office managed to arrange to have her await his call at 7:00 p.m. that evening. At precisely that time, he called, and she was put on the phone.

  At the sound of her “Hello” he melted, and then she added, “Happy Birthday.” “Hello to you my Love and thank you for the birthday wishes. I’m due to be pretty busy moving around the next few months, and I asked for and received permission to call you. I needed to hear your voice; I miss you so much, but I love you more.”